Page 15 of Falling for the Devil

It was obvious Olivier enjoyed listening to the sound of his voice, much like Zeus and half of the other male gods on Olympus.

“It seems a particularly loathsome creature has taken to capturing, torturing, and ... hmm, how do I say this gently?” Luminous eyes lifted to give him the appearance he was deep in thought, but Diana sensed it was more theatrics. “Several angels have gone missing. A few have been found completely drained and... dead. Their corporeal bodies mere rags as if their insides had been sucked out, leaving only the grisly flesh.”

Silence swirled about the room. Diana was too shocked to speak, finding her throat suddenly parched. Zeus’s eyes widened a fraction, but hadn’t he just said he already knew some of the story? Lucifer’s face reddened with barely suppressed outrage. If and when he discovered the monster killing his own kind, Diana knew his revenge would be swift and excruciating.

“I chose to bring my case to the mighty Zeus first, before upsetting you, brother, especially since the majority of the killings have been members of your own legions.” He put a large, golden hand on top of Lucifer’s forearm in commiseration or sympathy. “I hate to be the bearer of unwelcome news, but fifty squadrons from your Rising Sun legion and several dozens of Ezekiel’s forces have gone missing. We have recovered less than fifteen physical bodies.” Olivier’s eyes dropped to the ornate rug under his feet.

“What about their souls? Their essence? Have they been recovered?” The words pushed through Lucifer’s clenched teeth.

“No.”

Lucifer jumped to his feet, roaring. The giant pillars shook and the vase holding the roses shattered. Oddly, the crystal vase with the orchid beside him wobbled, but withstood the blast.

Olivier grasped his brother’s hand, pulling him back to the chair. A lone tear traced down his chiseled cheek, but the sorrow did not reflect in his eyes. What else did the archangel hide? Call it feminine intuition, but Diana knew beyond a doubt that he was withholding information. But for what purposes?

She resisted the urgent need to go to Lucifer’s side, to console him—if that was even possible.

“Who? Where?” The spout of rage subsided, to be tabled behind an iron will for vengeance. Lucifer would see to it that justice was done and would glory in the blood and guts of his enemy. Of that, Diana was certain. And she didn’t blame him. But the cold expression now stamped on his beautiful golden face sent a wave of fear swirling through her veins.

Without emotion, Olivier answered all his questions to the best of his ability. However, it seemed he was at a loss for most of the vital information.

The affected legion had been stationed between dimensions overseeing an uprising among a primal civilization on a tiny planet in the midst of some system that Diana had never heard of. They had been given instructions to watch, and if things became too violent, they were to report back for further orders. But they were not to interfere. No one knew why the soldiers disobeyed and ventured into that realm. Olivier suspected Ezekiel had countermanded the standing orders for his own purposes. “After all, he is such a hothead, and his pride still has not recovered from the last time you snatched a great victory from him.” Olivier shrugged at Lucifer’s glare.

He continued, but there wasn’t much to tell. A handful of soldiers had gone missing first. Without contacting their commander, Lucifer, the generals had decided to investigate on their own. And they hadn’t returned. Other scouts had been sent out, only to be lost as well. Then, reports came in from other nearby systems of the bloodied, shriveled remains of angels turning up at the base of an active volcano. Their wings had been severed from their bodies and were still missing. More were discovered two systems away, washed up on the shore of a nearly frozen sea. A few bodies were recovered; it was not known what had happened to the multitude still missing. A search was ongoing, but more angels had vanished.

“But... but their spirits? Angels do not necessarily need corporeal bodies; they could exist in pure spirit.” Diana pled in earnest, desperate for some news to give Lucifer hope.

By the sad drop of his lips and subtle shake of his head, Olivier conveyed the harsh truth to his devastated brother. “We checked with the soul recordkeepers. The missing soldiers’ names have been erased from the rolls of the heavenly host.”

Diana’s own heart ripped at the news. Angels? Killed? How could that be? The abject horror of the situation seemed to slam into Lucifer at the same time. He slumped to his knees, a helpless, guttural groan escaping him.

Without thought, she hurled herself over to him, placing an arm over his vast shoulders while he sobbed.

“Don’t!” He shoved her away with such force her backside smashed into the collection of candles atop Zeus’s desk. Pain ricocheted through the small of her back to her head, where one of the candlesticks had smacked the soft skin just below the base of her skull.

No, he wouldn’t want her pity.

Ares stepped forward to pull her up. Otherwise, no one in the room—not even her own father—moved a muscle to help her or reprimand Lucifer for his rough treatment of her.

Moments later, Lucifer rose to his feet to tower over everyone else in the room. No regret shone in his eyes for the pain he’d caused her. Actually, he didn’t so much as glance her way. A cold stone mask had replaced the warm, beautiful face that lit up the room. “We leave now.”

Zeus made to interrupt him but thought better of countering the angry archangel. Ironically, it was Olivier who stood up to speak sense to the situation. “We cannot go blasting in when we do not even know who is responsible.”

“I will kill everyone on that pesky little piss-hole planet. I care not if some innocents are caught in the crossfire.” Lucifer was almost to the balcony. She guessed he intended to fly out of there and a small knot in her stomach knew he’d never return. She’d never see him again.

“Brother, the Creator does not wish for such rash action. You understand how he dotes on all his little creations. He has forbidden a mass extinction event unless we bring him proof of the rebellion of all habitants, which you know will be impossible to deliver.” Olivier strode over to place hands on each of Lucifer’s shoulders. “Our Father will not look favorably on any angel—even you—if he is disobeyed.”

For once, Diana didn’t know which outcome she’d prefer. Under normal circumstances, she would intervene on behalf of mortals, regardless of species, for clemency. But this... perhaps they did deserve to be wiped from the face of the universe. Slaughtering angels? Her own brothers bragged of the atrocities of war, but even they wouldn’t dare touch an angel. Besides, if angels could be killed, what would stop the perpetrators from directing their wrath on the gods who were more vulnerable?

Two questions remained unanswered. One—who would dare to slaughter angels? And two—how had they achieved it?

Olivier was whispering to Lucifer. She suspected he was attempting to reason with him. Zeus, surprisingly, didn’t appear too discomfited at the news nor at the archangel’s reaction. Instead, his cobalt eyes kept cutting over to her, then to the angels, and back to her. When she returned his stare, he nodded and had the good sense to keep his mouth shut.

Without dropping his mask of steel determination, Lucifer turned back to Zeus. “I should apologize for my... behavior. I hope you will deem fit to overlook my outburst.”

Zeus smiled. “Of course.”

“My brother, Olivier, has been ordered to request the services of your daughter, Diana”—his voice stuttered on her name—“to hunt the creature, or creatures, responsible for the attacks on my brethren. Her talents for tracking down even the most elusive prey will be invaluable to us.”

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